Dan on The Black by Paul E. Cooley
So. This is messed up. I'm not an author, not at all. Apparently even though I'm not an author, I can still have wicked writer's block. I've been busily reading, but when it comes time to write an actual review I freeze up. I can't think of anything compelling to say. So this review is probably going to suck eggs, which is unfortunate because I really liked The Black.
First of all, let's talk about the cover. AWESOME. Dark and creepy. Totally sets the vibe of the book. If I had seen this book in a bookstore, I definitely would have bought it strictly based on the cover.
As it works out, the cover isn't the reason why I bought The Black. I bought this one on Amazon back in January of 2015. It was part of a giant haul of graphic novels with a couple of books by authors I've met online.
As an aside, to put my book-craziness on full display this was the full order:
- Lazaraus Volume 1
- The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1: Science Bad
- Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick
- Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery
- East of West Volume 1: The Promise
- Justice League Vol. 5: Forever Heroes
- Lucifer Book One
- Nailbiter Volume 1: There Will Be Blood
- The New 52: Future's End Vol. 1
- John Constantine, Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins
- The Joker
- Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin
- Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences by Tee Morris et al
- Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale by Starla Huchton
- The Black: A Deep Sea Thriller by Paul E. Cooley
It's clearly taken me a dog's age to pick it up and read it, and now I'm kicking myself for not picking it up sooner.
The writing is extremely technical. The author either researched the hell out of life on drilling platforms and the oil exploration industry or has some familiarity with the industry because there is a lot of detail. I found it a bit dry at first, but settled into it.
The overall vibe of the book is sort of old-school monster movie. Think The Blob-era horror movies, but without the camp. The back cover of the book cites Leviathan and The Thing as inspirations, and their influence is definitely present.
The Black is dark and vicious, it pulls no punches, and I found it completely enthralling. It's a perfect October read! I just placed an order for the other two books in the series, so hopefully it doesn't take me years to get to read them! I suspect they'll find themselves in rotation very soon.
For more on Paul E Cooley, check out his website.